This is the basic ideal diet, properly proportioned even for diabetics or pre-diabetics. Let's look at each part.

Fresh Vegetables: This by far should make up the bulk of your diet and along with good oils, forms the base of an ideal nutrition pyramid. It's not as difficult as you might think to get those servings in. First, a serving equals 1 cup raw leafy vegetables (like lettuce or spinach) or 1/2 cup of everything else – raw non-leafy or cooked vegetables. Next, choose at least one food per day from each of the five key color groups – red (red peppers, radishes, tomotaes), dark green (broccoli, greens, green beans, spinach, peas), yellow and light green (cabbage, cauliflower, onions, squash), orange (carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash), and purple (beets, eggplant, red onions). These are just examples to help you think of your favorites in each color category.

Good Oils: The best oils to cook with are macadamia nut oil and coconut oil at medium heat and olive oil for low heat or sautéeing. Canola oil is good for baking since it's not so "nutty" in flavor. Flaxseed oil is great in salad dressings but never cook with it as it doesn't take heat well. Also in this category are nuts (almonds, brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans) and seeds (sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, flaxseed). Try to focus on raw, not roasted or coated in sugar or other toppings.

Whole Grains: Whole-grain products beat processed grains hands down. They provide substantially more nutrients and dietary fiber and they are a major source of complex carbohydrates (vs. simple carbs).  One serving is equivalent to one slice of bread or 1/2 cup of cereal, rice, oats, corn, etc.

Legumes: Beans are a great source of protein and soluble fiber which lowers cholesterol and stabilizes blood sugar levels. Unlike most canned foods (which normally should be avoided) canned beans are an acceptable option because they retain their fiber content and anticancer flavonoids. Plus, they save you time!

Fresh Fruits: Fruits are fun foods and are a rich source of nutrients. Eating fruit has been shown to protect against cancer, heart disease, diabetes, cataracts, and strokes. Like vegetables, you should eat a rainbow of fruit from each of the five key color groups – red (apples, cherries, all red berries, watermelon), dark green (grapes, all green melons), yellow and light green (bananas, kiwi, lemons, limes, pears, pineapple), orange (apricots, cantaloupe, mangoes, oranges, papaya), and purple (all purple berries, currants, plums, purple grapes). One serving equals one medium whole fruit, 1/2 cup of cut fruit, 4 oz. of 100 percent pure fruit juice (preferably diluted with pure water), 1/4 cup dried fruit.

High Quality Protein: Fish is the highest recommended food in this category and its recommended that we consume fish at least three, but no more than 6 times per week. Generally, the meat we have the hardest time digesting and from which we get the least benefit is red meat and pork. The reasons are numerous but if you gotta have your steak, choose the leanest cuts possible, keep portion sizes small (no bigger than a deck of cards) and don't char or overcook the meat (this increases the formation of cancer-causing compounds).

Dairy: Dairy products are pretty high on the pyramid because our bodies really don't digest or extract any nutrients (yes, including the calcium) from dairy very well. In fact, you can bypass this category altogether by taking a good calcium supplement. If you're a 'got milk?' kind of person, fermented dairy products like yogurt are better than plain milk. And if you haven't tried soy milk alternatives, you really should consider giving them a try (especially some of the yummier flavors like vanilla and chocolate).

NO Junk or Fried Foods: Foods in this category have no place on your ideal nutrition pyramid! This should go without saying, but it doesn't because temptation is everywhere. Even as I write this, I can see White Castle right from my window. Believe it or not, and I have many testimonies to support this, as your body gets healthier, and you address the nutritional deficiencies that everyone on the traditional American diet have, your cravings for foods your body doesn't need goes down.

Exercise Daily: I'm not saying go out and join Bally's, but you can strength train and stretch right from your desk at work. Aerobics can start by taking the stairs a few days a week or doing jumping jacks each time you go to the rest room. Start small. Just start! Contact us for some easy office exercises.

Drink Pure Water: This is a must and 1/2 your body is just a minimum! For more information, check out our past tip: "Water, water everywhere...but are you drinking enough of the right kind?"

Supplement: The four recommendations in this category are each the subject of other Healthy Living Tips. The basic instruction is pretty self-explanatory: take a good vitamin/mineral as well as a fish oil supplement; consume 'green drinks' (drinks with combinations of fruits, vegies and great greens like green tea, barley grass, spirulina, wheat grass, etc.); add superfoods to your diet like goji berries, raw honey & bee pollen, cacao nibs, flax seeds, etc. For more in depth information on each of these four, keep checking our healthy living tips!